Re: [DarwinsTavern] Future Energy Sources

I hear that the repairmen who work on tankless water heaters are
over worked and under paid. That it is a "tankless" job.:)

On 2/26/[masked]:43 PM, Ellery Curtis
wrote:

My research into tankless give me enough skepticism to
avoid personally - solid bet is a good well insulated tank -
get the cutoff valve shower head to turn off watercolor
except for limited time to rinse. Best thing if you can
afford is solar hot water but pricey and impractical -
geothermal is pricey but I hear is great - I think solar is
getting cheaper but I'm holding out in hopes of better
battery technology otherwise you end up still sucking power
overnight plenty

I've read that (like it or not) fracking will make the
US a net exporter of fossil fuels by like 2025. Positive is
giving the middle finger to the middle east - negative may
be our water is toxic and or explosive :)

Picking brains: the
natural gas issue reminds me that my husband wanted
me to research getting a tankless water heater. I
think that is what you call them. Heat at the source.
No water tank to heat all day. Has anyone already done
some research on them that can point me in a direction
to look?

I
replaced my old incandescants with
CFLs when the CFLs 1st came out (as
the incandescants burned out, I
still have a few left). I'll
definitely be replacing the CFLs
with LEDs as they burn out. Mercury
is a problem, but modern lined
landfills help to mitigate that. As
a previous poster already said,
burning coal releases much more
mercury, and don't get me started on
natural gas! Fracking is a
DISASTER!!!

I
second Jenny's
statement.
I also did some
research and
decided to go
with CFL, even
with the
possibility of
mercury sipping
into the water
supply. The
reason I took
this route is
because there
are many other
sources of
mercury, that
needs to be
addressed first
before we begin
with CFL (coal
plants emit 33
tons a year
contributing to
more than half
of the mercury
pollution). Also
I could not
afford the LEDs.
I change all my
lighting on my
house to CFLs
which saved me
more than 35% of
my electricity
bill.

In a slightly
different topic,
I also recycle
condensed water
from my AC unit
to wash my
clothes. Which
actually saves
me some money
(not a lot, but
some). And have
shower heads
with atomizers
that save water
(down to 1.25
gallons/minute).

I think the
topic of energy
and environment
conservation,
even if it is a
different topic
than energy
sources, should
be taken into
consideration,
because it is
something that
anyone can do in
some degree
regardless the
financial
circumstances.

I originally started researching CFLs
when trying to
decide on what
direction to
take my home
lighting 2
years ago.

The CFLs last
a very, very
long time
(unless you
accidentally
break one -
and if you
break one - be
sure you have
read the
package for
proper
disposal
LOL).

>From my
research to
date, I see
repercussions
many years
from now, in
the hazardous
waste.
There are
other problems
(the heat from
the ballasts,
degradation of
furniture,
etc) but to me
the mercury
getting into
the water shed
from improper
disposal when
they finally
wear out is a
serious health
risk.

We are
already facing
problems with
mercury ( ah -
I see a great
new topic :)

It
appears that
the current
stance is that
the packaging
provides
adequate
instructions
for "proper"
disposal and
that by the
time the
number being
disposed
annually
becomes a
concern there
"will be"
sufficient
hazardous
waste disposal
areas (like
people are
really going
to go to the
trouble to use
them if they
existed!)

Can you elaborate more on the CFLs?
There is now a
dizzying array
of choices and
they appear to
use
substantially
less
electricity
(though they
take a while
to reach their
brightness).
Why are you
mistrustful?
(need to
program the
brain to take
shorter
showers...)
Lucina

On
2/26/2013
10:54 AM,
Jenny
Brengelman
wrote:

Thanks, Jim, for sharing.

I agree
most of us, me
included, are
in a lifestyle
of over
consumption.

After I
spent 3 weeks
in Ireland in
2009, with
concepts like
pushing a
button to get
3 minutes of
water in the
shower, I came
home with
renewed desire
to be more
conservative.

If I had
my way, my
husband and I
would sell and
get a smaller
house, smaller
footprint, but
he is set
against it. In
the meantime
I've made
small changes
with the
effects now
really
beginning to
show with some
significant
results. Don't
really know
that I am
making any
impact on the
world but am
on my wallet.
The biggest
difference is
how much lower
our gas and
electric bills
are.

Hello
everyone, I
live in
Tupelo, MS,
but attended
Darwin's
Tavern once
and would all
the time
except for the
two hour
drive, but I
do like being
in on these
email threads.
I wanted to
agree with my
friend Tim
Cook about our
American
lifestyle
which as he
said is the
real problem.
Tim could have
gone on to say
that besides
being addicted
to oil, our
economy is
owned and
controlled by
the big oil
companies who
pay only lip
service to
alternate
sources of
energy.

I live in
a small apt.
having moved
out of my
4,100 sq. ft.
family home 12
years ago at
age 61. I was
the only one
left and
didn't want or
need all that
space, nor the
acre of yard
to mow. I have
a small cabin
on Pickwick
Lake which
suits me just
fine and I
drive my VW
Beetle between
my two
residences.

Tim is
correct that
being in a
lifestyle of
over
consumption,
causes most
not even to
see the
problem. There
is where the
discussion
needs to be.

Thanks
for letting me
chime in.

Oh, and
one more
thing. The way
out is to
decide on the
end result
first. We
can't properly
change without
knowing the
end result
that we as a
people, or
individually
for that
matter, want.
Establishing a
well thought
out end
result, makes
getting there
much easier.

I’m
a friend of
Wade’s and so
far I’ve only
shown up for a
beer in
Avondale a few
weeks ago. Was
particularly
interested in
the Future
Energy Sources
discussion and
really wanted
to show up for
that, but
unfortunately,
I have a
conflict
Wednesday
night and
can’t attend,
so allow me to
make a
contribution
this way.

What
I would have
tried to say
if I were able
to attend is
that I think
the focus on
energy sources
is great, but
it can also be
misdirected.
All the
conventional
solutions
don’t require
any
fundamental
change to the
conventional
American way
of life, but
it seems to me
that it’s that
way of life
that’s the
problem.
Having lived
in countries
with lower
energy
consumption, I
am always
amazed upon my
return to this
country how
wasteful we
are, and how
unsatisfying
it is to live
that way. I’m
not talking
about
recycling or
fuel-efficient
cars, I’m
talking about
the lifestyle
that requires
cars and the
generation of
stuff to
recycle in the
first place.
Even W came
around to
saying
“America is
addicted to
oil,” but what
we’re really
addicted to is
energy. From
what I’ve seen
of the
evidence, no
combination of
solar, wind,
switch grass,
used French
fry oil, or
any other
fantastical
solution could
possibly scale
up to meet the
demand, but
even if it
could, that
doesn’t take
away from the
fact that
we’re in the
grip of an
addiction.
Even if we
found a
miracle energy
source that
allows us to
continue
tearing down,
ripping up,
and paving
over our
surroundings
so we can push
two tons of
steel around
just to go
through our
daily
routines, do
we really need
to

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